The House Guest by Mark Edwards(23)

‘Like what?’ Krugman asked.

‘Well, I don’t know this for sure but I picked up a few hints from things Ruth said. Her career was taking off and his wasn’t going anywhere. That can cause a lot of tension in a relationship, especially when it’s the woman who’s the successful one. You know what the male ego is like. Deny it all you want, but you guys all want to be the breadwinners. I know so many couples who’ve broken up because the guy couldn’t stand his wife earning more than him.’

‘Lucky I’m not like that, isn’t it?’ Jack laughed.

‘Yeah, it is. Anyway, when I spoke to Ruth to make the arrangements for them house-sitting, she told me she was worried about what Adam was going to do all day. She was concerned about him. We had a good chat about it, actually.’

‘Do you think she was still into him?’

‘I don’t know. It was hard to tell. I think she loves him but . . .’

But? To my intense frustration, I couldn’t hear what she said next.

‘He’s a writer, isn’t he?’ said Krugman.

‘Yeah,’ said Mona. ‘A failed one.’

I flinched. It was one thing thinking it myself, but to hear someone else say it was like being punched in the nuts.

‘What are you thinking?’ Jack asked.

‘Exactly what I said to Adam,’ Krugman replied. ‘I’m sure she’ll turn up. My guess is that she’s deeply embarrassed about getting drunk and blowing her chance on Broadway. Who wouldn’t be? She probably can’t face anyone at the moment, including Adam. She probably thinks he’s going to tell her off, especially if she’s his meal ticket.’

I was beginning to understand why they say you should never eavesdrop on conversations about yourself.

‘But what about Eden?’ Jack asked. ‘Do you think Adam’s telling the truth?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Krugman. ‘Why would he make her up? Though it does seem odd that Adam can’t tell us her surname. That his photos of her have mysteriously vanished.’

‘Oh my God,’ Mona said. ‘Do you think Adam has done something to Ruth?’

I could hardly breathe. They thought Ruth had vanished because I had harmed her? That I had concocted this elaborate story about Eden to cover my tracks?

‘Maybe he was so jealous of her success he murdered her,’ Jack said. ‘Right here in our house!’

‘Don’t say that!’ said Mona.

‘Then he got someone to call the theatre saying she was sick. He could have an accomplice. A new girlfriend?’

‘You think Eden is his new girlfriend?’

Krugman interrupted them. ‘Wait, wait, wait. We’re all getting carried away. My job isn’t about theories, it’s about facts. Evidence. I’m sure Ruth is fine. And, I’ve got to say, Adam appears genuinely concerned to me. He doesn’t seem like he’s making it all up. Not all of it, anyway.’

There was a long silence, which Krugman broke. ‘What are you going to do about him staying here with you?’

‘We don’t know yet. We haven’t discussed it properly,’ said Mona. ‘Part of me wants to keep an eye on him, see if he does or says anything else that helps us make sense of all this. The other part of me doesn’t feel comfortable having him around.’

‘Well, let me know what you decide. And call me if you hear from Ruth.’

‘We will,’ said Jack.

They fell quiet and I heard the back door open and shut. I rushed over to the bedroom door and strained to hear them as Jack and Mona said goodbye to Krugman. But their voices were too quiet and muffled for me to make out their words. Then the front door banged and I heard a car engine start up. Krugman was gone.





Chapter 13

I needed to get out of the house. I didn’t feel welcome there anymore. I grabbed my laptop and notepad, stuffed them into my backpack along with most of my clothes, and ran down the stairs. I didn’t want to face Jack and Mona, but she was there in the hallway, turning towards me with concern on her face. Fake concern.

I now knew what she and Jack really thought of me, and it burned. I had built up our friendship in my head, but we were virtually strangers, weren’t we? We’d spent a week together on the cruise, and Ruth and I had seen them briefly when they handed over the keys to this house. We didn’t really know them, and they didn’t know us.

I had thought they would be on my side. But they thought I was a liar. They thought I might be capable of murdering my girlfriend.

‘Everything all right?’ Mona asked as I reached the foot of the stairs.

I was tempted, for a moment, to tell her I’d heard what she and Jack had said. But I realised that would make me appear even worse: an eavesdropper, desperately trying to defend himself.

‘I need some air,’ I said, slipping past her to get to the door.

‘Wait, Adam,’ she said.

I turned.

‘I know you must be disappointed by what Dennis said. But I’m sure Ruth is okay. I can feel it. I have every confidence she’ll be back.’

‘And you’re not concerned about this woman who came into your home pretending to know you?’ I wanted to see how she would explain her lack of worry without revealing any of her and Jack’s theories and suspicions.